Profiling a blog

     Look! Pictures!
 
Feast your eyes on pictures of people falling, of people snowboarding, and of people having a great time. 0_0 . Interested? OK, maybe that wasn’t so successful, but MY favorite blogs are the ones with very little text, a lot of pictures, and a lot of videos. I must have been out of my mind when I typed “Snowboard blog” into google search.

Regardless, I came across a blog called SMSSnowboarding.  I was looking for a blog similar to mine, but I ended up finding something even better! This blog had just the right amount of reading material, a bunch of pictures, and some videos.

From a quick scroll through the blog, I saw pictures of skateboarders, surfers, and snowboarders. Here and there, I saw a couple of homemade videos that seemed to be of kids participating in the various sports.

Reading through the front page, I was a bit confused on the purpose of the blog. Some posts were about skateboarding in an indoor park. Others were about snowboarding competitions from last year. There were also a lot of pictures of kids with medals from various competitions. The text didn't really help. Most of the writing just explained what was happening in each of the pictures. There didn't seem to be a connection between the blog posts.  I was beginning to wonder...

Was it the blog of a snowboarding company? No… they didn’t seem like they were selling anything. Was it just someone sharing pictures of themselves and their family? No… There were too many authors to count (too many kids too)! Some posts were written by some guy named Dave, others written by Ross Powers, and occasionally, Ian Kirk would show up to write a few.  A combination of families perhaps? Possibly.

After reading all their posts on the first page, I noticed the blog archive at the bottom of the page. This blog has made 300+ posts since 2008. A very active blog, in my opinion. It averages ~100 posts per year and is especially active during the winter season. I decided to take a look at the Hello World post they made back in 2008.  Right off the bat, all my questions were answered: "Welcome to the Stratton Mt School Snowboard Team Blog."
Impressive. From the pictures I saw on their front page, they must have a really massive snowboard team with well over fifty members. As I continued reading their first post, I discovered that this snowboard team is really hardcore and the members are apparently very well known.

My curiosity eventually led me to the Stratton Mountain School website. A school dedicated to winter sports? Do my eyes deceive me? A school dedicated to winter sports? "Alrighty class, by tomorrow, I want you all to show me a clean backflip off the 4 foot ramp."

Who wouldn't want that for homework? I knew that somewhere in the world, there were powerhouses that pump out Olympic athletes, but ... there is no explanation for how awestruck I am. This school has created more than 36 olympians and 7 of them competed in the 2010 Winter Olympics in Canada. I would love to attend this school.  If only...

Aside from my new dreams,  everything now made much more sense. The kids were training in the skatepark and the pictures are records of all the competitions they have participated in.
Although this blog doesn't look like it is directed to average readers like me, I find it fascinating. It's most likely directed at parents, fans, and scouts to keep up with the progress of the students.

We blog about the same sports, but the content in our blogs is unique. SMS snowboarding shares about the competitions their kids win while I just share about my experiences and random thoughts. Maybe one day I will get my chance to post and brag about all the competitions I win. =D

Snowboarders unite!

Today I met an interesting man named Paul Burney. Who is this, you ask? Well, I’m not entirely sure either. I actually don’t know if he is interesting at all, but I do know that he loves snowboarding and snow sports. I met Mr. Burney on Diigo, a social bookmarking website. 

The way we met was quite interesting. I was all alone on the internet, watching my favorite snowboarding videos, when out of the corner of my eye, I see Mr. Burney. We were both at the Angry Snowboarder store. I was in the video aisle and he was in the snowboarding gear section. I notice that we are the only two people in this store, so I decide to have a peek at what Mr. Burney is looking at. He’s checking out really ugly helmets and stuff. I already own a helmet so I’m not interested in getting another.  As I make my way out of the store after freeloading on all the videos, Mr. Burney unknowingly drops his wallet. Instead of being a Good Samaritan, I decide to take advantage of the oblivious Mr. Burney. Unfortunately, there is no money. Just a bunch of receipts. Receipts for ugly snowboard boots, ugly goggles, and ugly ass clothing. I’m thinking this is the lamest guy I’ve ever met until I notice a plane ticket to Sainte Foy, France. With the ticket in hand, I bolt out of the store never to see Mr. Burney again.

You must be thinking I’m a liar, but I’m not. This really is the way we met.  Diigo is a social bookmarking website and Mr. Burney, as I have discovered, is part of a group called Snowboarding group. I started following this man because I saw a comment he made in one of the Snowboarding group's threads. He commented that one of his favorite places to snowboard was in Jasna, Slovakia. As I continued reading, I came across pictures of Sainte Foy that made me fall in love instantly. Mr. Burney is quite active in the Snowboard group. He's made approximately 10 snowboard-related bookmarks, but he has hundreds in total. Snowboarding is only one of his many hobbies, but from his snowboarding bookmarks, I've already found a few websites that I will enjoy.

Because of Mr. Burney, I've discovered an Insider's Guide to Secret Ski Resorts and also a Snowboard Length Calculator that calculates the best snowboard dimensions based on your physical weight and size. I actually have much to thank Mr. Burney for, so if you have caught me, I apologize for stealing your plane tickets.

Skate Parks

Back in high school, I remember passing by the local skate park under the freeway every morning and afternoon. One of the things that always bugged me was that someone was always there. In my high school years, I cared a lot about what others thought of me. I never wanted to go to a skate park if somebody else was already there. Imagine the embarrassment if someone saw me fall while dropping in. 

That was me as a teenager. Over a few years, I’ve learned that everyone is still in the process of learning and there is no shame in trying. The main point I am trying make, however, is that there is always someone at the skate park. I shall explain in a minute.

I read an article today about the grand opening of a skate park in Cambodia. I am not sure if there are problems in Cambodia where the money could be put to better use, but I think skate parks are well worth the money and space they require.  When I came across pictures of kids using the new skate park, I can feel their excitement beaming from their smiles. A few of them look like they are learning skateboarding for the first time while others look like they’re going to have fun shredding the quarter pipe. I can feel their excitement because the first day I ever went to a skate park is still engrained in my mind. I was extremely nervous, but the first time I tried to drop into a 5 foot bowl, I nearly overdosed on adrenaline. I failed, of course, but at the end of the day, I was wearing a smile as big as theirs.

Now I’ll explain why it is important that there is always someone at the skate park. I can’t tell you how many times I have been approached by Mr.Stranger threatening to kick my ass for skateboarding on the street. I am usually a considerate person, but some people won’t even give me a chance to apologize. It’s because of angry people like Mr.Stranger that makes skate parks worth the money. The city doesn’t want to deal with his complaints and neither does anyone else. The park is like a refuge for skaters who live next to assholes.

                Back to a lighter note, I highly encourage everyone to skate at a skate park sometime in their life. Skateboarding, biking, rollerblading, whatever. Just go out to a park and give it a go. Whoever makes parks is really doing a great service for the community. I am really happy for the kids in Cambodia making good use of that park.